COUNCILLORS have opposed plans for an HMO in the Rhondda because of insufficient parking and poor-quality accommodation.
The application for a four-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Brook Street, Williamstown, was voted down by by Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT)’s planning committee on Thursday, May 15, against officer recommendations.
It will come back to the committee for the strengths and weaknesses of making such a decision to be considered.
This application was a resubmission of a previously-refused application.
That application was refused as it was considered the proposal would represent an overintensive use of the property resulting in cramped and poor-quality living accommodation.
The planning report said that to overcome the previous reasons for refusal the proposed layout had been revised to swap the fourth bedroom on the first floor with the bathroom on the ground floor which meant every bedroom had an external window opening.
The revised layout had also introduced a safe means of escape from the first-floor staircase to the rear of the property.
There were five letters of objection to the plans which said there was not enough infrastructure in place for a four-bedroom HMO, there were concerns associated with safety and well-being of neighbouring occupiers, and there was limited parking in the area to allow the conversion to a four-bedroom HMO.
They said this house should be sold or rented as a family home and not to be made available to make as much money out of it as possible and that there are a number of businesses around the property which this will impact.
They said this HMO property would cause more disruption to this already-busy street in terms of road noise and they raised concerns associated with future occupants.
They said the property was too small for four bedrooms and two bathrooms, local residents were moving away due to the proposal, while they mentioned the impact upon property value and they said that works had started on the property.
Councillor Danny Grehan said the size of the rooms was “awful” and councillor Wendy Lewis said it was a “very disappointing” application.
Planning officers had recommended approval saying: “The proposed conversion and change of use to a house in multiple occupation would not be considered to have a detrimental impact on the character of the site or highway safety and would not result in an unacceptable intensification of use.
“The property would retain its residential use, in common with the majority of the surrounding development, benefits from being sustainably located, and would be acceptable in terms of the amenity of future residents.”
They said the application site was located within the settlement boundary and the principle of residential development would therefore be acceptable and that the development would result in the beneficial reuse of a vacant property and provide affordable housing to meet local need.
